Walking in Bulgaria's National Parks. Julian Perry
from Sofia to the mountains (€7–10)
dormitory bed in mountain hut (€5–10)
room in family hotel or guesthouse (€15)
loaf of bread (€0.5)
salad (€2)
evening meal (€10)
bottle of wine (€7.5)
bottle of beer (€1).
Communications
Mobile phone coverage is surprisingly good over much of Bulgaria, although – not surprisingly – connections are more difficult in the heart of the mountains. Roaming is available for most international mobile phones in Bulgaria, but the cost of calls can be very high.
If you are likely to want to use your phone a lot, it is possible to buy yourself a Bulgarian SIM card (Mtel and Globul are the most popular providers) from newsagents, bookshops and mobile phone outlets. However, you may need your phone to be unlocked to operate with a Bulgarian SIM.
Public card-operated telephones can be found in towns throughout Bulgaria and these can be used for both domestic and international calls – the latter are made by first dialling 00, then the country code. Cards for these can be purchased from street kiosks and bookshops, but bear in mind the orange Bulfon phones and blue Mobika phones each require their special cards. Telephone calls can also be made from special phone cabins in almost all post offices. Having asked for and been assigned your cabin, you make your call in the normal way, then when you have finished go and pay in cash at the counter. Although post office counter services have restricted opening hours, normally 8.30am to 5.30pm, the telephone section is usually open every day and has longer hours.
Most Bulgarian towns, and even many villages, now have internet clubs. These are mainly frequented by children playing computer games, but they do offer an opportunity to check and send e-mails, as well as communicate via Skype.
Travelling to Bulgaria
With the country’s recent accession to the European Union, Bulgaria no longer seems such a remote and daunting destination. For independent travellers wishing to walk in the country, there are an ever-growing number of cheap flights available to Bulgaria. Most major European airlines now operate regular services, including British Airways (www.britishairways.com) and Bulgaria Air (www.air.bg/en), while several smaller ‘no-frills’ airlines such as Easyjet (www.easyjet.com) and Wizz Air (http://wizzair.com), are also steadily opening up new routes to the country.
Although there are some flights to Varna and Burgas on the Bulgarian coast, Sofia Airport (www.sofia-airport.bg) is the most convenient point of arrival for those planning on walking in the Bulgarian mountains, as all three national parks can be easily reached by public transport from the Bulgarian capital.
Entrance Formalities
To enter Bulgaria you require a full passport that must be valid for three months beyond the intended length of stay. Visas are not necessary for British or other EU citizens. Other nationalities should check current requirements. There are no statutory vaccinations needed for Bulgaria when travelling from the UK, but up-to-date tetanus and polio immunisations are recommended. Useful sources of information are:
The Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in London (0207 5849400) www.bulgarianembassy-london.org
The British Embassy in Sofia (02-9339222) http://ukinbulgaria.fco.gov.uk/en
Foreign and Commonwealth Office Travel Advice for Bulgaria http://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/bulgaria
Travelling to the Mountains
Useful up-to-date information about buses and trains can be obtained from the following sources: Sofia Central Bus Station (www.centralnaavtogara.bg) and Bulgarian State Railways (http://razpisanie.bdz.bg/site/search.jsp). The simplest way to reach the central bus station (tsentralna avtogara) or central station (tsentralna gara) from Sofia Airiport is to take a taxi.
Crossing the River Marinkovitsa (Walk 7, Day 4)
Be warned there are very many unscrupulous taxi operators hanging around the airport terminals ready to whisk you off at an extortionate price! You can quite simply avoid any problems by making certain that you order a taxi from the OK Supertrans (www.oktaxi.net) booking offices, which are located in the arrivals hall of both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. Don’t be tempted simply to walk outside and try to hail an ‘OK’ taxi yourself – there are now at least half a dozen other taxi companies in Sofia who are using the initials ‘OK’ in some form or other, deliberately to catch out unsuspecting tourists.
The current tariff for genuine OK Supertrans taxis is 0.59 leva/km (6am to 10pm) and 0.70 leva/km (10pm to 6am), so the ride to the bus or train stations shouldn’t cost more than 20 leva (€10). The drive normally takes about 30 minutes, but it is good to allow yourself an hour for your connection.
Details of how to reach the relevant trailheads by public transport are given at the start of each walk. The following distances and timings should give you a rough idea of how long it’s going to get to each place from Sofia.
| Walk start | Time from Sofia | Distance from Sofia |
| Divchovoto (Walk 1) | 3hrs 30mins | 130km |
| Mazaneto (Walk 2) | 4hrs | 215km |
| Kalofer (Walk 3) | 2hrs 30mins | 165km |
| Lagat (Walk 4) | 4hrs | 210km |
| Rila Monastery (Walk 5) | 2hrs 30mins | 155km |
| Malyovitsa (Walk 6) | 2hrs 30mins | 100km |
| Borovets (Walk 7) | 1hr 30mins | 80km |
| Kostenets (Walk 8) | 1hr 30mins | 68km |
| Bansko (Walks 9, 10, 11 and 12) | 3hrs 30mins | 200km |
Walking in Bulgaria
The origins of recreational hiking in Bulgaria can be traced back to the end of the 19th century and one man, Aleko Konstantinov, the founding father of the Bulgarian hiking movement. An author and journalist with an intense love of the mountains, he decided to awaken his compatriots’ appreciation of the natural beauties that lay hitherto unnoticed around them. To do so, he organised a mass excursion on the Vitosha Mountains in the summer of 1895, exhorting the citizens of Sofia to leave behind the smoke and dust of the city and experience for themselves the peace and pleasure of the countryside. More than 400 people responded to an advertisement he placed in a newspaper, and on 28 August they set off from Dragalevtsi